Description

An altered book or “book excavation” project by James Allen.

James tells us, “I’ve always been inspired by birds. Their grace in flight, the iridescence of their feathers, and the songs they sing invoke a sense of majesty for me. In Closely Related Movements of Birds I attempted to capture that feeling by layering the illustrations as I cut through the book.  Within the layers I echoed some of the shapes of birds to try to create a sense of movement and sound.”

ABOUT BOOK EXCAVATIONS
A book excavation is a sculptural work of art made by transforming various types of old books using precise cuts with a scalpel or knife, carving pages one by one until an astonishing new composition reveals itself. This almost surgical focus of dissecting books results in a wholly new object infused with a graphical history that evolves as the artist exposes each layer of the book while cutting around interesting images or text. For most artists working in this remarkable medium, the process is performed without pre-planning or mapping out the contents before cutting into the books pages and/or covers. Finished book excavations often appear as cross sections of the book, carved to create an alternate universe previously hidden between the covers.

Additional Information